Review - Letshuoer S12 2024 Edition

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Letshuoer S12 2024 Edition

The Letshuoer S12 2024 edition have been sent to me directly by Letshuoer for me to try them out and share my opinions in this review. Letshuoer have not made any requests or comments and, as always, I will do my best to be as unbiased as humanly possible.

The Letshuoer S12 2024 official page is here: https://letshuoer.net/es/products/letshuoer-s12-2024-edition-14-8mm-planar-magnetic-driver-in-ear-monitor-earphone-hifi-iem

As with all links I post, this is a non-affiliate link.

To avoid being repetitive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

Jumping back to April 2022, when the first real planar IEM boom started, I got to try out the Letshuoer S12, a set that immediately turned into my main daily driver. In fact, I remember that the title of the video review in Spanish was “my new EDC”. They continued to be one of my most used sets for a long time and only really lost their spot in my box of 6 quick grab IEMs quite recently. So, it goes without saying that I was (am) a fan of the original S12.

Fast forward to a few months ago and Letshuoer reached out to me to let me know that, as part of their 8 year anniversary, they would be releasing a 2024 Edition of the S12, limited to 2,024 units. I was, of course, very happy to agree to reviewing them and looked forwards to giving them a listen.

Now, these aren’t the first variation of the S12, we also got the S12 Pro and the Z12 which, funnily enough, I never got to listen to but I do know that they received a lot of praise.

So, what is special about the 2024 edition?

We’ll get to details in a moment but apart from the limited number, the Letshuoer focuses mainly on the special accessories that are included, along with the limited edition shell colour. They don’t actually say much about changes in tuning or sound, although there are (something that we will also get to in just a moment).

The 2024 edition comes in at $199 while the original S12 is available for $90 less on Letshuoers site, so what do we get that is special?

Presentation…

I have to say that before I even opened the outer box, I was already intrigued by the presentation. The outer brown shipping box features the Letshuoer branding, something that is not very common on shipping boxes (at least those that I receive) and opening it reveals a black interior with more branding and a gold coloured box inside a large bubble wrap sealed envelope. As I said, we haven’t even got to the main box yet and I already felt that these were something different.

Removing the gold inner box from the bubble wrap, this shows an “8th” design in a raised texture, with “Letshuoer 8th Anniversary” in black at the top and “S12 Limited Edition” at the bottom. On the back we just get some basic specifications etc.

Opening the gold box we find another box, this time a rigid black box with a lift off lid that reveals a gold (coloured) commemorative medallion style item sitting in a white cardboard inlay which refers to the Letshuoer 8th Anniversary. At first I thought this was the keychain that Letshuoer refer to on their web but there is another one in the box, so I am not really sure what it is. This medallion/keychain has a spinning centre and while I wouldn’t actually put it on my keys (I like to keep them small and manageable), it has become a bit of a fidget toy on my desk.

Under the top layer we find the fourth box, inside of which we get the user manual, 9 sets of tips in 3 types (vocal, balanced and memory foam) on a card, the warranty card and a commemorative card in black and gold.

Underneath this we finally come across the gold coloured IEMs sitting inside foam cutouts, the storage/transport case containing the cable, and a final (fifth) box that contains a more manageable keychain, if the first one was actually a keychain. Or maybe they go together?

Either way, there is no reason that I can fault the packaging and contents of the S12 2024 edition. It is true that we don’t need all the boxes and goodies but this is a “special edition” and the unboxing does make it feel like it is.

Build and aesthetics…

The IEMs are, as far as I can tell, identical to the original S12 except that the outer plate is gold coloured and the inner shell is black. To be honest, I thought that the black part of the shell was plastic or resin but Letshuoer mention says that the entire body utilizes a titanium alloy chamber with a high precision CNC milled shell, so I guess they are all metal, as were the originals.

I found the originals to be very comfortable and the 2024 edition is no different. They are small enough to fit comfortably in my ears and light enough to not cause any fatigue. As far as aesthetics, I am not someone who favours gold but I understand that they are a limited edition and they are also on the rose gold / copper side of the spectrum, so they are not as “blingy” as they could be.

The included cable is titanium coloured with gold hardware that matched the IEMs. I can’t say it is my favourite cable ever but it is a nice cable nonetheless. It also features interchangeable connectors, with 2.5, 3.5 and 4.4mm being included.

The storage / travel case is the usual Letshuoer round, screw top, kind. This is not something that I chose for transporting IEMs in my pocket but it is great for storing IEMs when not in use.

In general, I have no complaints with the build or aesthetics. They chose a colour theme for the anniversary edition and have maintained it throughout, making it something that does portray itself as a special edition, especially when the unboxing experience also matched the colour scheme.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

As I said in the intro, Letshuoer so not say anything about changes in sound between the original and the 2024 version, yet there are some.

Before explaining how this version sounds, here is the graph comparing the two, along with my usual preference curve for reference:

As soon as I started listening to the s12 2024, it was like putting on an old pair of shoes. Yes, you may have newer and more extravagant shoes, but there is something about those old comfortable shoes that just feels correct. During my initial listening sessions, which are while I am focusing on work and not music, I honestly didn’t really pick up on the differences.

However, as time went on and I listened to more familiar tracks, I started to notice that things seemed a little more “powerful” than on the original. By that I don’t mean that they were louder, or that they were bassier (although I will mention a little more on that in a second), just that they seemed to have more “authority” to them, especially in things like kick drums.

This sensation was more apparent when listening to the originals again, especially when moving on to my detailed listening sessions with my test tracks.

“Chameleon” is clean yet powerful in its subbass, with midbass that adds to the sensation rather than detracting from it. Although the original S12 is also clean and controlled with this track, again, I feel that the 2024 seems to do it with more authority.

“No Sanctuary Here” gives the same sensation, not that there is more bass than on the original, but that the bass has more “thump” to it, without an increase in the midbass range. Again, clarity is good. In my review of the original S12, I mentioned that the slight additional presence of midbass (over my personal preferences) worked well for things like “Whole Lotta Love”, giving a little bit more body to the bass guitar on older rock recordings. With the 2024 I don’t get that sensation. There is no lack of midbass but it doesn’t quite give that same sensation of warmth that the original did in this case, it seems more clear. Not saying that is sounds bad, far from it, just a little different from what I came to expect from the original.

Moving through the mids, I find that the response hear deviates very little from the original, staying nicely balanced with good presence to the lower ranges of vocals and instruments that sound clean, such as the bass guitar in “Elephants On Ice Skates” that is once again nicely balanced between the slaps, plucks and lower notes.

Moving into the upper mids and lower treble is where I find the most noticeable difference between the two sets. Vocals still have a nice presence to them and that slight hint of harshness and sibilance in “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes” is still present when volume is pushed (above my usual listening levels), but overall I find things to be a little smoother.

As far as the “Code Cool” sibilance test, Patricia Barber still presents some sibilance on this set, as she did on the originals, placing her around a +1 or +2 on my non-scientific scale. This is reduced quite a bit by swapping tips, making her more neutral in this range, but once again, the sibilance level is very reminiscent of the originals.

As far as detail and separation, it may just be my brain and the placebo effect, but I do feel that the newer model is an improvement. Listening to “Strange Fruit” on both sets, I feel that there is a bit more space between the vocal layers and that details are pushed slightly further forwards. This is not necessarily an increase in detail per se, more of them being more in focus.

Soundstage is something that I find very pleasurable on the S12 2024, with a nice sensation of space and location in things like “La Luna”. They may not be the most spacious sounding IEMs but there is still plenty of stage for things to be located all around you.

Conclusion…

I have tried to refer to many of the tracks that I referred to in my review of the original S12 (which you can find here), giving a reference point as to how this stacks up against the original.

There is no doubt that the S12 2024 is a very nicely presented set that does make you feel like you are getting something special when you receive it, which is good seeing that it is a special limited edition.

There is nothing to complain about as far as build and I am probably not the best one to comment on aesthetics, seeing that I am not really a fan of gold.

So that leaves the sound and the performance of the IEMs, which, at the end of the day, is the important thing when buying a set of earphones. It is no secret that I am a fan of the S12 and, in my personal opinion, the S12 2024 is slightly better. It is not a night and day thing, it is small things that stand out to me when listening to music, but I would personally say that I would choose the 2024 edition over the original based on musical enjoyment. They just seem to present things in a more impressive way while still keeping the strong points of the original.

Is this worth the $90 price difference? Based solely on the musical reproduction, I would say no. However, you are not just getting the musical reproduction, you are getting the things that go with a limited edition and that is something you need to consider.